Remote device waking using a multicast packet

• US 9,319,225 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2007
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Garg, Sumit, Sridharan, Murari
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamza, Faruk
• Assistant Examiner(s): OH, ANDREW CHUNG SUK
• Application Number:
  US11/653,681
• Publication Number:
  US 20080170569A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,381 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/66 Layer 2 routing, e.g. in Ethernet based MAN's
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/005 Routing actions in the presence of nodes in sleep or doze mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Sleeping device(s) may be changed from a sleeping state to an awake state using a multicast packet that sent to a multicast address of a multicast wake-up group. The packet may include an identifier for one or more particular device(s) in the multicast group, which, when received by the device(s), causes the device(s) to wake up.

Claims

1. At least one computer readable storage apparatus storing computer executable instructions that, based on execution by a computing device that includes at least one processor, memory, a network address, and a network communication module, configure the computing device to perform actions comprising:

joining, by the computing device, a multicast group having a multicast address, where the multicast group is dedicated to waking up devices via a network;

entering, by the computing device subsequent to the joining, a power state in which the computing device is asleep while the network communication module of the computing device remains awake;

receiving, by the network communication module of the asleep computing device, a multicast wake-up packet sent to the multicast address, where the received packet comprises a multicast address and a plurality of network addresses of different devices to be woken;

determining, by the network communication module of the asleep computing device, that the multicast address comprised by the received multicast wake-up packet matches the multicast address of the multicast group and that one of the plurality of network addresses of the different devices to be woken comprised by the received multicast wake-up packet matches the network address of the computing device; and

waking, in response to the determining, the asleep computing device.

2. The at least one computer readable storage apparatus of claim 1 where the received packet is formatted according to a multicast protocol.

3. The at least one computer readable storage apparatus of claim 1 where the received packet indicates that every device in the multicast group is to be woken.

4. The at least one computer readable storage apparatus of claim 1 where the received packet indicates that multiple devices in the multicast group are to be woken.

5. A method performed on a computing device that includes at least one processor, memory, a network address, and a network communication module, the method comprising:

joining, by the computing device, a multicast group having a multicast address, where the multicast group is dedicated to waking up devices via a network;

entering, by the computing device subsequent to the joining, a power state in which the computing device is asleep while the network communication module of the computing device remains awake;

receiving, by the network communication module of the asleep computing device, a multicast wake-up packet sent to the multicast address, where the received packet comprises a multicast address and a plurality of network addresses of different devices to be woken;

determining, by the network communication module of the asleep computing device, that the multicast address comprised by the received multicast wake-up packet matches the multicast address of the multicast group and that one of the plurality of network addresses of the different devices to be woken comprised by the received multicast wake-up packet matches the network address of the computing device; and

waking, in response to the determining, the asleep computing device.

6. The method of claim 5 where the received packet is formatted according to a multicast protocol.

7. The method of claim 5 where the received packet indicates that multiple devices in the multicast group are to be woken.

8. The method of claim 5 where the received packet indicates that every device in the multicast group is to be woken.

9. A computing device comprising:

at least one processor;

memory coupled to the at least one computing device;

a network address;

a network communication module;

the computing device configured to join a multicast group having a multicast address, where the multicast group is dedicated to waking up devices via a network;

the computing device further configured to enter a power state in which the computing device is asleep while the network communication module of the computing device remains awake;

the network communication module of the asleep computing device configured to receive a multicast wake-up packet sent to the multicast address, where the received packet comprises a multicast address and a plurality of network addresses of different devices to be woken;

the network communication module of the asleep computing device further configured for determining that the multicast address comprised by the received multicast wake-up packet matches the multicast address of the multicast group and that one of the plurality of network addresses of the different devices to be woken comprised by the received multicast wake-up packet matches the network address of the computing device; and

the network communication module of the asleep computing device further configured to wake, in response to the determining, the asleep computing device.

10. The computing device of claim 9 where the received packet is formatted according to a multicast protocol.

11. The computing device of claim 9 where the received packet indicates that every device in the multicast group is to be woken.

12. The computing device of claim 9 where the received packet indicates that multiple devices in the multicast group are to be woken.